I love stories like this.
Growing up, Tanweer Ahmed’s mother, Kalsoom, always discouraged him from playing cricket. They were a poor family. His mother sold vegetables and milk from the few cows they had in his hometown of Sialkot in Punjab, Pakistan.
“Cricket doesn’t cost that much, but every penny matters when you don’t have anything,” Ahmed said.
Kalsoom put those pennies toward getting him and four siblings through the best school in the city. He had one school uniform, one pair of shoes, and one pair of clothes to wear at home.
“That’s all we could afford,” he said.
Today, Ahmed is owner of more than 150 franchise restaurants in four states, plus an energy company and half of a medical research venture. And he is busy pouring millions of his own dollars into building one of the nation’s largest cricket complexes. It will serve children and adults when it opens in early September, and later it could host professional international matches.
The project is rising from the plains of Prairie View, less than a 15-minute drive from the Grand Parkway on the outskirts of Houston, in prominent view of drivers on the newly refurbished U.S. 290.
Plans for 10 to 12 fields on 86 acres have raised eyebrows among some locals who question the viability of such a facility in the rural expanse around a college town of about 6,000. But this is no quixotic attempt to recapture some piece of a lost childhood far from home. Houston has been waiting for this, observers say. If he builds it, players will come.
“There’s certainly a large demand” in Houston, said Eric Parthen, U.S. project manager for the International Cricket Council, which is not involved in the project. “It will immediately be one of the larger facilities in the country, if not the largest.”
A recent study by the council, in concert with the market research firm Nielsen, found 200,000 people playing the game in the United States, and it counted millions of fans.
“It’s untapped potential in the youth market,” Parthen said. “The U.S. has the largest immigrant population in the world, a lot of those coming from South Asian cultures, and these are children growing up in families passionate about cricket.”
I would assume this venue will be of great interest to the nascent Houston Cricket League, as well as the US cricket team. It’s not hard to imagine Ahmed’s venture becoming not just the premier location for cricket in the US, but also a major attraction for the region. I wish him all the best with this project.
This should be an example for Houston’s population, if someone wants a sports complex they build it, they don’t stress the public with tax demands and revenue sequestration.
Passed the 86 acres yesterday, and it’s nothing more than bulldozed dirt at this point – long way to go before a planned opening date within 60 days. But i’m with David – let private individuals and companies build sports venues in this town (and reap any financial benefits from same). No need to place the financial burden upon the citizens.
If this thing takes off, I see Tanner needing to build a hotel next door…
Nice to read about a legal immigrant achieving the American dream. I have no interest in cricket, but more power to this guy, building a stadium with his own money. He has a compelling personal story, almost reminding me of the erstwhile Texas governor candidate Shami.
Agree with David’s comment.